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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Mystery
- Subject: Ghost Stories / Paranormal
- Published: 02/01/2025
Nitrogen
Adult, F, from Jacksonville/Florida, United States.jpeg)
7
N
[He]2s22p3
Nitrogen
Ida ran late for her 11 a.m. tour of the Ponce De Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida. She only needed to descend three flights of stairs to get from her corner room in the tower to the start of the tour in the grand foyer. But today, as most days, she dragged herself out of bed.
She cursed herself for staying up late to dance and drink with her friends. Her husband, Henry, yelled at her and made her go to her own room before sunrise.
“But it’s the beginning of the season. I want to stay up and watch the sunrise at Castillo de San Marcos.” Ida recalled pleading her case.
She admired her ivory lace dress with intricate stitching, the latest fashion from Paris. Her corset cut deep into her ribs, making it difficult to breathe. She never remembered putting it on this morning, nor did she recall removing it last night.
These lapses in memory concerned her, but not as much as they concerned her controlling husband. She found huge blocks of time, hours or even days, often unaccounted for. She blamed the spirits for this. But Henry blamed the opium.
Touching the ornate carvings of the ivory brooch at her throat, Ida wished she had a mirror in her room to ascertain if her appearance proved acceptable for society. Damn you, Henry. Why did you take my mirror away? I’m not crazy, I won’t hurt myself.
Descending the circular staircase leading from the Southeast corner turret, Ida stopped in front of a guestroom on the second floor. With pursed lips, she disapproved of the mess these guests made of their rooms in her husband’s opulent hotel. The beds weren’t made, dirty clothes covered the floor, and cosmetics lay scattered across the dressing table. Full of rage, she cleared the dressing table with one swipe of her arm. Cosmetics and hair accessories fell to the floor.
Satisfied with her tampering, Ida found her way to the grand entrance and the tour—already in progress. Stephanie always spoke during the tours, while Ida merely helped guide the crowd of guests throughout the hotel. Ida tried to speak on occasion, especially when Stephanie said something wrong. But Ida’s corrections were always met with strange looks, like she was crazy.
Ida spotted the group outside in the courtyard as Stephanie said, “Notice the centerpiece of the fountain is actually the hilt of a Spanish sword turned upside down.” Ida smiled at the beauty and uniqueness of the fountain in the courtyard of her husband’s famous hotel in St. Augustine, Florida.
Standing in the courtyard, Ida admired the beautiful coquina building with reddish-orange bricks. The architecture left details in every inch of the hotel. Turning with the tourists, she admired Henry’s Alcazar Hotel across the street. She loved the enormous swimming pool with its little alcoves to separate the men from the women.
As the group poured back inside the grand entrance, Ida looked in horror at the wardrobe of the hotel’s guests. She hadn’t seen the latest fashions from Paris, but it shocked her to see so many women showing their bare legs and knees. The sight of women not wearing stockings appalled her.
Ida followed at the rear of the group as they turned left into the receiving room. Beautiful Tiffany Chandeliers hung magnificently along the length of the room. Her favorite part of the tour was next.
“When guests first arrived at the Ponce De Leon Hotel, women and children were escorted here while their husbands paid for their hotel room for the season. Back then, women were not involved in financial transactions,” Stephanie explained.
“How much are these Tiffany chandeliers worth?” a guest asked.
“The Ponce De Leon Hotel converted to Flagler College in 1968. Many items were sold, but not these chandeliers and the stained-glass windows in the dining room. We had these chandeliers appraised a few years ago, and because of their rarity, they are truly priceless. The Tiffany stained-glass windows upstairs in the dining hall were appraised at $36 million dollars,” Stephanie said.
Stephanie led the group to the other end of the long room. She pointed at the glass casings containing photographs of Henry Flagler and his family.
“Here is a photograph of Henry’s first Wife, Mary Harkness. She died young, then Henry married her nurse, Ida Alice Shroud, who is photographed here. Henry had Ida declared insane and kept her locked away in the tower until she was institutionalized in 1899. In 1901 Florida passed a bill making incurable sanity grounds for divorce. Henry immediately divorced Ida who remained institutionalized in New York until her death in 1930. In 1901, Henry married his third wife, also named Mary, who is photographed here,” Stephanie explained.
“It’s a lie! I’m alive and I’m standing right here. I’m not dead, I’m not divorced, and I’m not crazy!” Ida shouted.
All of the guests in the room heard her this time. They all turned and stared at Ida. But they didn’t look at her, they looked through her as if she were invisible.
“Did anyone else hear that? I thought I heard someone screaming right in front of me,” one of the guests said, turning to look at all the others.
“I heard something, too. And it’s freezing. Look, I can see my own breath.” Another guest exhaled to demonstrate her breath turning into white smoke from the cold.
“It’s from the nitrogen in the air. When ghosts appear, they carry a strong dose of nitrogen with them. It’s what makes it feel so cold when they’re near,” Stephanie explained.
“Excuse me, did you say ghost?” a guest asked, instinctively stepping away from the cold spot with a terrified expression.
“Yes, that’s a ghost. Flagler College is haunted. The students claim sightings and little objects getting moved around in their dorm rooms. One of the spirits is Henry’s second wife, Ida Alice Flagler.”
Author’s note—According to the Flagler College student tour guides, the famous Ponce De Leon Hotel, now Flagler College, is haunted by the ghost of Ida Flagler.
Sources—Tours of Flagler College, Ghost Train Tours, and Wikipedia
Nitrogen is 1 of 118 short stories in my Elements Of Mystery Collection. Each story is titled after an Element from the Periodic Table. All my 20+ published books are available everywhere eBooks are sold worldwide. Print books are available on Amazon. Free shipping with Prime. Please visit my website https://www.elementsofmystery.com/
Nitrogen(Terri Talley Venters)
7
N
[He]2s22p3
Nitrogen
Ida ran late for her 11 a.m. tour of the Ponce De Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida. She only needed to descend three flights of stairs to get from her corner room in the tower to the start of the tour in the grand foyer. But today, as most days, she dragged herself out of bed.
She cursed herself for staying up late to dance and drink with her friends. Her husband, Henry, yelled at her and made her go to her own room before sunrise.
“But it’s the beginning of the season. I want to stay up and watch the sunrise at Castillo de San Marcos.” Ida recalled pleading her case.
She admired her ivory lace dress with intricate stitching, the latest fashion from Paris. Her corset cut deep into her ribs, making it difficult to breathe. She never remembered putting it on this morning, nor did she recall removing it last night.
These lapses in memory concerned her, but not as much as they concerned her controlling husband. She found huge blocks of time, hours or even days, often unaccounted for. She blamed the spirits for this. But Henry blamed the opium.
Touching the ornate carvings of the ivory brooch at her throat, Ida wished she had a mirror in her room to ascertain if her appearance proved acceptable for society. Damn you, Henry. Why did you take my mirror away? I’m not crazy, I won’t hurt myself.
Descending the circular staircase leading from the Southeast corner turret, Ida stopped in front of a guestroom on the second floor. With pursed lips, she disapproved of the mess these guests made of their rooms in her husband’s opulent hotel. The beds weren’t made, dirty clothes covered the floor, and cosmetics lay scattered across the dressing table. Full of rage, she cleared the dressing table with one swipe of her arm. Cosmetics and hair accessories fell to the floor.
Satisfied with her tampering, Ida found her way to the grand entrance and the tour—already in progress. Stephanie always spoke during the tours, while Ida merely helped guide the crowd of guests throughout the hotel. Ida tried to speak on occasion, especially when Stephanie said something wrong. But Ida’s corrections were always met with strange looks, like she was crazy.
Ida spotted the group outside in the courtyard as Stephanie said, “Notice the centerpiece of the fountain is actually the hilt of a Spanish sword turned upside down.” Ida smiled at the beauty and uniqueness of the fountain in the courtyard of her husband’s famous hotel in St. Augustine, Florida.
Standing in the courtyard, Ida admired the beautiful coquina building with reddish-orange bricks. The architecture left details in every inch of the hotel. Turning with the tourists, she admired Henry’s Alcazar Hotel across the street. She loved the enormous swimming pool with its little alcoves to separate the men from the women.
As the group poured back inside the grand entrance, Ida looked in horror at the wardrobe of the hotel’s guests. She hadn’t seen the latest fashions from Paris, but it shocked her to see so many women showing their bare legs and knees. The sight of women not wearing stockings appalled her.
Ida followed at the rear of the group as they turned left into the receiving room. Beautiful Tiffany Chandeliers hung magnificently along the length of the room. Her favorite part of the tour was next.
“When guests first arrived at the Ponce De Leon Hotel, women and children were escorted here while their husbands paid for their hotel room for the season. Back then, women were not involved in financial transactions,” Stephanie explained.
“How much are these Tiffany chandeliers worth?” a guest asked.
“The Ponce De Leon Hotel converted to Flagler College in 1968. Many items were sold, but not these chandeliers and the stained-glass windows in the dining room. We had these chandeliers appraised a few years ago, and because of their rarity, they are truly priceless. The Tiffany stained-glass windows upstairs in the dining hall were appraised at $36 million dollars,” Stephanie said.
Stephanie led the group to the other end of the long room. She pointed at the glass casings containing photographs of Henry Flagler and his family.
“Here is a photograph of Henry’s first Wife, Mary Harkness. She died young, then Henry married her nurse, Ida Alice Shroud, who is photographed here. Henry had Ida declared insane and kept her locked away in the tower until she was institutionalized in 1899. In 1901 Florida passed a bill making incurable sanity grounds for divorce. Henry immediately divorced Ida who remained institutionalized in New York until her death in 1930. In 1901, Henry married his third wife, also named Mary, who is photographed here,” Stephanie explained.
“It’s a lie! I’m alive and I’m standing right here. I’m not dead, I’m not divorced, and I’m not crazy!” Ida shouted.
All of the guests in the room heard her this time. They all turned and stared at Ida. But they didn’t look at her, they looked through her as if she were invisible.
“Did anyone else hear that? I thought I heard someone screaming right in front of me,” one of the guests said, turning to look at all the others.
“I heard something, too. And it’s freezing. Look, I can see my own breath.” Another guest exhaled to demonstrate her breath turning into white smoke from the cold.
“It’s from the nitrogen in the air. When ghosts appear, they carry a strong dose of nitrogen with them. It’s what makes it feel so cold when they’re near,” Stephanie explained.
“Excuse me, did you say ghost?” a guest asked, instinctively stepping away from the cold spot with a terrified expression.
“Yes, that’s a ghost. Flagler College is haunted. The students claim sightings and little objects getting moved around in their dorm rooms. One of the spirits is Henry’s second wife, Ida Alice Flagler.”
Author’s note—According to the Flagler College student tour guides, the famous Ponce De Leon Hotel, now Flagler College, is haunted by the ghost of Ida Flagler.
Sources—Tours of Flagler College, Ghost Train Tours, and Wikipedia
Nitrogen is 1 of 118 short stories in my Elements Of Mystery Collection. Each story is titled after an Element from the Periodic Table. All my 20+ published books are available everywhere eBooks are sold worldwide. Print books are available on Amazon. Free shipping with Prime. Please visit my website https://www.elementsofmystery.com/
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